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The Complex Mind pp 243–263Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Emergence of Complex Language

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Abstract

It has now become rather common to accept that any theory of language is constrained by evolutionary and comparative considerations, as much as considerations of the evolution of language should be constrained by linguistic considerations. This is to say: when and as we develop a theory of what language is like and why it is that way, it is useful to look at the archaeological record, as well as at other (non-linguistic) minds, in order to see what makes language special. At the same time, evolutionary hypotheses on the emergence of language benefit from some independent theoretically informed grasp of what the empirical properties of languages are.

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Authors
  1. Wolfram Hinzen
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oxford, UK

    David McFarland

  2. University of Edinburgh, UK

    Keith Stenning  & Maggie McGonigle-Chalmers  & 

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© 2012 Wolfram Hinzen

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Hinzen, W. (2012). The Emergence of Complex Language. In: McFarland, D., Stenning, K., McGonigle-Chalmers, M. (eds) The Complex Mind. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230354456_12

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